September multi-country demand surge, cable exports see seasonal shot up

Published: Oct 22, 2026 13:55 (GMT+8)

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[Latest data from the General Administration of Customs] In September 2026, wire and cable exports rose 12.63% MoM to 320,000 mt, up 26.84% YoY. From January to September 2026, cumulative exports reached 2.4506 million mt, up 11.23% YoY. Among these, copper wire and cable exports rose 15.18% MoM to 165,900 mt, up 32.94% YoY. From January to September 2026, cumulative copper wire and cable exports reached 1.2258 million mt, up 17.69% YoY.

Demand side, the international wire and cable market continued to recover overall in September, with standout growth in key markets. Australia's demand rose 26.84% MoM, remaining China's largest export destination for copper wire and cable. Poland's exports surged 567.86% MoM, jumping to become China's second-largest export market for copper wire and cable, while Malaysia posted a sharp 229.34% MoM increase, ranking third. The three core markets of Australia, Poland, and Malaysia together accounted for 22.48% of copper wire and cable exports, with concentration in top markets pulling back somewhat, reflecting a multi-point blossoming pattern in overseas demand.

Data source: General Administration of Customs Unit: mt

Supply side, China's domestic landscape remained stable, with copper wire and cable exports still heavily reliant on the coastal industrial clusters in east and south China. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong provinces posted exports of 47,000 mt, 22,000 mt, and 20,000 mt respectively, with the three provinces together accounting for more than half of the national total.

Overall, this round of strong export growth was primarily driven by overseas power grid upgrade demand, coupled with a concentrated push to connect overseas PV and energy storage projects to the grid, which fueled a surge in export orders. Looking ahead, the overseas new energy grid connection window is expected to persist, and grid upgrade demand has medium and long-term sustainability, so copper wire and cable exports are expected to maintain relatively high prosperity. However, attention should still be paid to the disturbance risks posed by copper price fluctuations and the pace of overseas project funding.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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